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Link dragged his feet through another pile of sand and tried to swallow the dryness of his throat. It was hot. Unreasonably so, Link thought, despite his lack of experience with such things.
It was his first trip to the desert, and Link hated it already. He hated the warmth, the thirst, the way his clothes chafed against his scars. He wondered for the hundredth time what on earth could possess anyone to actually live here.
Still, there was nothing to do but carry on. Impa had told him in no uncertain terms to go to the four villages – Rito, Gerudo, Goron, and Zora – before he went to the castle. After having seen and defeated Waterblight Ganon, Link was inclined to agree with her. These people needed him.
But so did Zelda. Zelda, who had spent more than a hundred years fighting for her kingdom and people while Link slept. Now that Link was free of the Shrine, he was anxious to save her.
Sure, he didn't have many memories of her. And sure, those he had weren't all that happy. But Zelda had stepped up when Link himself failed to stop Ganon. He had to save her. He owed her that.
But the heat. The sun was an ever-present eye looking down on him. His skin was blistering by now, and Link could already feel the sunburn begin to peel. He wished he could cover his exposed skin, but the idea of putting on more clothes was enough to send a streak of nausea through Link's stomach.
How long since he'd gone into the desert now? Link couldn't remember. It had been a few days at least – he'd spent more than a day caught in a sandstorm, and when the skies finally cleared, he'd found himself way off course.
Link shook his head to clear the fog, but only succeeded in making himself dizzy. They would have water in Gerudo Town. Water and shade. He just had to get there.
Link's vision was beginning to blur by the edges, but he stubbornly carried on. He could see the village on the horizon now, it was almost within reach – or was it nothing more than a trick of the desert?
Link squinted, and in a moment of carelessness, his foot caught in the sand. He slammed headfirst into the dune, mouth filling with sand.
Link turned his head toward the city in the distance and reached for it, like that alone would be enough to carry him there.
He had to get up. He couldn't give up now.
The echo of laughter blew past him, and Link turned his head to find its source. Nothing but sand and the Gerudo Highlands, far away.
Whispering. Raspy exhales of air, a voice crinkling like a bent paper.
"Who- who's there?" Link asked. Only more laughter met his ears, the deep baritone joined by a woman's voice.
"Oh Link, I will miss you so," the woman whispered, the sound somehow both quiet and deafening to Link's ears. There was something comforting yet melancholic about it. Like cooking a meal from your childhood, only to realize it doesn't taste quite like you remembered it.
"You have the strength of a soldier," the man said, his creaking voice filled with pride. "You'll make a fine warrior one day."
Link felt his eyes sting, but his body was so starved for water that no tears came. His chest ached with something familiar.
"Link, don't go!" Came a third voice, and this one was young and panicked. A small girl's, by the sound of it.
"I'll come back soon," Link whispered. The words felt too well-rehearsed for something he'd never said before.
The voices began overlapping, and several new ones joined the chorus. One was rich and bossy, another sweet and determined. The cacophony rose to a dizzyingly crescendo in Link's head, and he squeezed his eyes shut against the building headache.
He needed to get up. But he was so tired, and it felt like the voices were tearing his soul itself apart. Who knew, maybe they were? Not like there was a lot to tear apart in the first place, Link thought deliriously. Ganon had made sure of that, right?
With that thought in mind, Link let his head rest on the scorching sand beneath him. He fell asleep to the distant sound of laughter in the wind.